"The Commission shall conduct a review and analysis of New York's
colleges and universities, with particular emphasis on public higher
education and the SUNY and CUNY systems. To the maximum extent
possible, the Commission shall consider, and where appropriate
incorporate, the expertise and learning of prior commissions
devoted to higher education in New York State, and that of State
agencies and instrumentalities with authority over and expertise
in higher education." (pp.ii,iii all quotes are from the Commission's Preliminary Report).

Various library leaders (including some from SUNY) put relevant
issues in front of the Commission. The report indicates the
importance of academic libraries in the context of the
Commission and governor's goals for higher education in New York.
Portions of the report are included here to highlight this.

In fact, libraries are mentioned in the report's very first "opportunity" and "challenge":
"We must build on our strengths and seize opportunities.

"One of the most exciting opportunities is strengthened research.
New York is well positioned with impressive cyber infrastructure
and library connectivity..." (p.6)

SUNYNet and SUNY's Library Automation Implementation Program brought inter-networking and linked library resources to all parts
of New York State. Such shared endeavors resulted in updated
technical and research infrastructure for some institutions that
might not have seen such developments for a number of years.

The report explicitly acknowledges the critical role our libraries
serve in the future development of New York:

"Connecting Faculty, Researchers and Students to a World of Ideas
Technological Infrastructure
"The capacity of New York State colleges and universities can be
strengthened through enhanced connections. Too many of our colleges
cannot individually afford the scale of investment that the 21st
Century demands. Two scale-intensive infrastructure investments
are particularly critical to participation in the knowledge economy:
technology and academic libraries." (p.20)

The very next opportunity described in the report is specific to
academic libraries. More resources for our libraries are essential
to achieving major goals. In addition, the Commission deserves
credit for acknowledging needs at smaller campuses.

"There is a second opportunity for the sharing of infrastructure:
academic library pooling of electronic information. Not only are
scientific discoveries shared through electronic journals, but
faculty and students in both the sciences and humanities increasingly
rely on electronic resources such as collections of primary literary
texts and historical archives. Academic libraries are now contending
with rapidly expanding information sources, and facing increasing
costs for licensing fees. Some small campuses simply cannot afford
what they need.

"Other states have taken steps to achieve powerful economies of scale
through state-wide licensing (New Jersey, Ohio, and Virginia are
examples). New York can strongly benefit from the efficiencies gained
through this pooling of effort. The Commission is persuaded by the
arguments advanced by hundreds of academic librarians throughout New
York and recommends that the State invest $15 million to facilitate
college and university libraries moving from individual library
licenses to state-wide shared licenses." (p.21)

Hallelujah! Praise is deserved for these academic librarians and
to the Commission for this recommendation. The specific details
conform with the ARIA initiative from NYSHEI (see Jason Kramer's
article in this issue of SUNYergy for more on these topics).

Nylink and OLIS are mentioned. We like to be associated with
creating cost-saving opportunities, the notion of research and
public service.

"SUNY System Administration supports additional functions that fall
into the category of "University-wide Programs" which are system-wide
in nature, creating cost-saving opportunities through economies of
scale, and/or are related to research or public service.
University-wide programs include entities such as ...Nylink (a
statewide membership organizations consisting of libraries both
within and outside of the SUNY system), and operation of SUNY-wide
information technology systems with services such as ...electronic
library resources..." (p. 42)

"Incentives for Academic Libraries to Pool Electronic Information
Access to electronic information should be expanded throughout the
State by facilitating college and university libraries moving from
individual licenses to state-wide shared licenses." (p.55)

As mentioned, this recommendation is laudable. And, it is subject
to approval via the New York State budgeting process. Additional
advocacy is in order.

The distinguished Higher Education Commission places academic
libraries front and center. The group makes it clear that we are
an integral part of their goals. Far from the notion of "the
library is going away," this reports shows the continuing
prominence of libraries in the realms of education, research and
a knowledge economy. Good work everybody!